Using Sign Language With A 1 Year Old Toddler

As a deaf mother, my wife and I are bringing up our son, Rupert with British sign language (BSL) as well as spoken english.
In this video I talk you through how we started using sign with Rupert, how I use it slightly differently to how my hearing wife Claudia uses it, what the difference is between SSE and BSL, how Rupert now uses sign at 16months and how you can help teach your baby sign language too.
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[@DestructionGlitter]

I don't know why the whole "are you coming?" conversation made me so emotional. Also "loud noise, mama". He sounds like a delightful little person. With two amazing parents, I would expect no less from this child.

[@jennifers5560]

Right?? I felt that way too.

[@Tegdirb64]

Yes, so cute that he is helping you, caring about you at such an early age. My daughter had some middle ear issues, and Worster Drought Syndrome, so we used Makaton. As a family we still use some of the signs in noisy environments, such as "I'm just going to the toilet!"

[@justcj1593]

This beautiful shows how human brains develop, and that soo much work happens in these crucial years, these years are the building blocks of how their brain with process the world.

[@samranda]

i felt the same way-a baby being able to voice very basic concerns and get a response from their parents could do a lot for their peace of mind

[@Topaz_Estrella]

My baby is around Rupert's age and tries to take care of me too, by feeding me his leftover food or helping me since I have a broken foot at the moment and it's so sweet. I truly feel like i don't deserve this sweet baby 😭 they know we care for them and want to return the favor

[@michelleheegaard]

him signing "baby" when seeing himself in the mirror is adorable. He understands that he is a baby and that is he different from grown- up people. That's so awesome

[@TjPhysicist]

i'm not sure when babies usually start to become self aware and grasp their own place in the world, but yea that's pretty smart for a kid that young imo.

[@lygophilia4127]

@@TjPhysicist 15-36 months they become self aware in the mirror, so he likely was not understanding that he was a baby at that time.

[@hopscotch5872]

I read in my baby book that my first words were "hi," "mommy, "daddy," and "baby," and I called myself and all other kids "baby"

[@sophiedereans]

Q​@@TjPhysicist

[@valarya]

That he puts his hand on you and alerts you to noises is probably the cutest thing I've ever heard. 😭

[@lililangtry1881]

It’s a tie with “sticking his tiny finger in mama’s ear to check if the hearing device is in place”. So clever and so adorable!

[@emilyrln]

Ikr?! What a little sweetie!

[@demonjeans]

him signing baby to his reflection is so cute 😭😭😭

[@rae6390]

he said im baby 🥺

[@psychedelicpegasus7587]

@@rae6390 Oh my heart!

[@lemonadebi]

RIGHT 🥺🥺

[@thejasminedragonmerchant6843]

It's absolutely adorable watching him sign ❤️

[@GI1derY]

I giggled so hard!

[@rebeccacuthbertson1271]

I think that it's so adorable that Rupert has chosen to be your ears! That's so sweet of him to alert you to various noises and that he's realized when you have your hearing aids in or not. Truly truly precious. 💖

[@emma-victoria933]

My little boy is my ears too. So sweet. He is 3 now and comes and informs me of things I don't always hear, due to my hearing loss

[@fangirlingballerina5633]

I've seen this with other deaf parents I follow. It's ADORABLE

[@Jess-3]

Isn’t it amazing🥹 it’s very very cute and it’s amazing how much he’s picked up too!

[@erinpennington19]

​@@fangirlingballerina5633 yeah same I've seen it with Madison and OurSignedWorld where she tells her dad there's a baby crying in the shop because she knows he can't hear it, its so cute

[@thejasminedragonmerchant6843]

Rupert acting as the world's cutest pair of assistant ears is definitely super sweet.

[@aliplay5]

Most amazing thing to me is how you have respected his autonomy from the very start with telling him you will change him, dress him, bathe him etc. Clearly knowing what is happening around and to him is a very important when he asks "Tilly" constantly and wants to be aware of everything. This is so important, I think a lot of people, even their own parents, seem to ignore little kids let alone toddlers because adults think these little kids don't understand and don't care. Imagine how traumatic that is if at 10 months old you want to know what is going on but have no way of communicating that and nobody tells you... that's actually pretty dehumanizing and I never thought of it that way until you had Rupert and talked about how you are raising him.

[@annabees]

People around me most definitely tell kids what's happening. Like "do you need to get changed? Oh, you did weewee? Let's get you changed!~" 😅

[@audreydoyle5268]

@@annabees then you're lucky. There's big wide world of people who treat others various ways. One of them is emotional neglect.

[@annabees]

@@audreydoyle5268 🥲

[@selladore4911]

yes!!!

[@Crosshill]

wait if those are the exact kinds of keywords and common phrases a dog learns to gauge whats going to happen then surely a baby child would be doing the same

[@randomgal190]

I grew up with a deaf mother. I also became her ears. To this day, it's so ingrained in me, that if I feel anyone is having trouble hearing something my immediate response is to tell them what was said or what sound just occurred and why. It can be a bit difficult when normal hearing people don't understand why I'm so eager to explain sounds in detail when they might have just missed a word or were startled by something lol but they get it when I let them know

[@NintendoDRS]

I've had a similar experience! My mom lost most of her vision when I was a kid and at times she was completely blind. After a while I was able to pick up on the things she struggled with and we found ways to compensate through verbal description. Most of the people around me growing up knew my family's situation (it was a small town) so I didn't realize I was applying these habits to everyone around me until I got to college and my roommates sat me down and asked me to stop reading the subtitles on the TV out loud for them. Apparently they didn't need me to read prices and menus or announce where steps were and guide them past obstacles on the sidewalk either. 😂

[@trilobite-knight7746]

As a hearing person with a hard time processing language, this would be very helpful, there's definitely a subsection of neurodivergent hearing ppl that could use that help!

[@randomgal190]

@@NintendoDRS it's very comforting to hear that it's not just me! I think it's very beautiful how we become in-tune so deeply with the needs of the disabled loved ones in ours lives. thanks for sharing :)!

[@traceyadixon]

@@trilobite-knight7746 I'm autistic and learning SSE (going to progress to BSL) because I struggle with auditory processing and can only imagine that's going to get worse as I get older. I feel it should be in the school curriculum for everyone. When I'm non-vocal, it would be useful if anyone around me actually understood SSE/BSL but instead I'll end up texting my partner instead.

[@trilobite-knight7746]

@@traceyadixon I so agree! The little bits I do know help a ton when I go nonverbal (if people are around who understand it at least). It's kind of wild they don't just properly teach it in schools alongside English. What a difference thatd make for accessibility:(

[@hannahland7863]

Loved this video! Rupert’s natural understanding of your hearing aids and desire to translate for you really shows that ableism and resistance to accessibility is taught and not natural. And he’s so lucky that he’s growing up bilingual! What a wonderful thing for him to be able to speak in phrases so young.

[@kdandsheela]

I was thinking that, as well. From my understanding three word phrases is quite good for a bilingual child at his age

[@hopegold883]

And shows how natural simple care and kinda is for anyone with intelligence.

[@JaneAustenAteMyCat]

I love your comment about ableism. I remember as a child not even noticing my father's very large birthmark that covers half his face. To me he's just my dad. I don't even think I realised it was there until I was a teenager, so I totally agree. If 'difference' is normal, there's no room for prejudice💚

[@Lurklen]

@@JaneAustenAteMyCat It's all about exposure, the best thing for children and by extension society, is to expose them to as many different types of humans as possible so they don't have as restrictive a world view to try and expand when they are older and encounter something new (which they will, even with a diverse upbringing, but if given practice they'll be more flexible when encountering new phenomena). You of course have to balance that with the nature and personality of the child, but kids are pretty accommodating when they don't have any training not to be (or rather, they are as accommodating or not as the mood strikes them to be lol).

[@crptpyr]

It's the same with any form of bigotry really, my sister is quite a bit older than me, and bisexual with a heavy preference for women, so I grew up seeing her having girlfriends when I was quite young and it was a totally normal thing to me where I would've never considered it being out of the ordinary. I'm trans and my nephew, who is now 7, adjusted incredibly well to my name etc changing when he was still little (littler, anyway). I'm also disabled and had a walking stick when he was still a toddler. He'd like to play with it a lot when I wasn't using it, but wouldn't even try it when I was walking around and using it because he understood that I needed to use it to walk sometimes, and in those instances it wasn't something for him to try messing with. Children are lovely, absolutely open to learning and very intuitive of things around them. Close-mindedness is a learned trait

[@R.F.9847]

Rupert is quite observant and intelligent to have worked out that Mama is deaf and has things that can help her hear. And it's very sweet of him to want to let you know when there are noises. The two of you are raising a wonderful human being.

[@kellinomnom]

I was a preschool teacher and would also help with the babies to give other workers their breaks. I used sign language with the 2 year olds and it really helped them. I thought maybe the 'terrible twos' we're possibly bc they couldn't yet speak well and wanted to communicate their needs. It worked so well I did this with all the children around me for years. Glad you're doing this for Rupert, for so many reasons, and hopefully it will help him too. All the best!

[@SartorialDragon]

Absolutely. As a kindergarten teacher, it's SO noticeable when the "terrible twos" end - a 2yo might start hurting other kids because they want to play with them and they have opinions on how they want that, but they can't communicate that, so older kids might exclude "the baby who can't talk yet", which again frustrates the 2yo to no end. Once they hit the bump where they go from a few words to full sentences, i've usually seen a "social climb" into the company of the 3-4 yos, getting to join their games, and a decrease in physically aggressive behaviour, because their frustration ceased!

[@audreydoyle5268]

@@SartorialDragon I've noticed that too. There are exceptions, but that's like one or two out of the bunch, that can communicate and socialise well with the older children, because they have strong presence. Other than that, I think incorporating signs into practice is a wise discision, because it'll relieve the troubled 2 year old from being misunderstood.

[@jennyandthemachines]

Did you use SSE or BSL?

[@SartorialDragon]

@@audreydoyle5268 Yes! Because it enables them to communicate themselves. Usually, pre-verbal kids need me to translate between what i can see they want, but the other kid can't understand that yet, so i need to facilitate so they can play well with each other. i also wish sign languages would be more part of early education. I'm still thinking of applying to a kindergarten which is bilingual German Sign Language (DGS) + Spoken German! But i need to brush up on my DGS skills first...

[@sweetlorikeet]

Honestly, you can see kids that age getting more and more frustrated as they babble and are trying so hard to make themselves understood and we just can't understand them.

[@Tinkerkel]

My 21 month old is language delayed and I have been teaching her ASL (American Sign Language) starting at 10 months old. It has really helped her a lot in expressing herself. "More" and "all done" were her first two signs. Now she uses about 20 regularly. The fingers touching for more which she said was baby sign language is actually ASL for more.

[@amandahoefner9183]

That’s what I came here to say. Looks like the baby sign they use in the UK is actually ASL. My triplets aren’t officially diagnosed language delayed but they are 16 months and have no real words yet. Tons of babbles and maybe even a little triplet language between them but nothing we can understand yet. I’ve been working on ASL with them and make sure to look up words I don’t know from deaf KZbinrs. I actually paused this video to go and make sure I was using the right sign for more in ASL and not some made up baby sign. 😂

[@xobrynn90]

It's not actually, it's both.

[@AdorableAcushla]

I feel like Rupert is going to grow up to be a much more self assured child from having been able to communicate so young

[@littol_hampuff]

I'm not deaf, but i have tics and have done my whole life. My brother and I have a 10 year age gap and he's grown up with my ticcing and finds it very amusing. When he was 5 he watched my head whip back then said "woaaaahhhhh! What was that? Can you do it again?" Which really made me laugh, it just goes to show that judgment is a learned behavior because kids find everything interesting and cool :)

[@maryseflore7028]

Er... How could he watch you at 5, when you're born 10 years apart? When HE was 5, YOU were... -5!

[@littol_hampuff]

@@maryseflore7028 I'm 10 years older :| I was 15, he was 5

[@Nick-dx2pt]

@@maryseflore7028 you know that he could be a younger brother right????

[@sianthesheep]

I'm touched that at such a young age that he has the awareness to know you are not able to hear everything he can and the empathy to want you to not be frightened by loud noise. It makes me realise how much even very small children understand about the caregivers in their life and that that you can never say a child is too young to comprehend what is going on around them.

[@hippybecca]

That is amazing. It sounds like he cries less than other babies because he can communicate his needs. It shows babies can understand things at a younger age, they just are more capable of signing than they are saying things verbally. So fascinating. I also didn't realize British signl language is different. Back in kindergarten my teacher taught us the alphabet in ASL and I remember most of them still so when you first started signing letters I was confused. Interesting you guys use two hands and ASL uses 1 for letters.

[@jizzypuff]

I think it's also his personality that he cries less. My daughter (hard of hearing) knew sign language at that age as well and she screamed nonstop from birth to like a year and change. Then she cried nonstop in the car seat from 1 year to two years maybe.

[@miridium121]

Sign language is usually national, and based on the spoken language of the area. ASL and BSL were developed in different ways because of the geographical isolation, which was of course even greater back in the day. There are similarities, differences and "false friends" just like between most different spoken languages. I know enough Finnish sign to recognise some of the similar words in BSL used in this video (like "butterfly"), while many others, like "cat" are completely different. Our "cat" looks more like BSL "pet", so that was a false friend in action right there, and I did a double take when she said what the BSL "pet" sign meant. Thankfully, while more international interactions are happening nowadays, technology can help out with some of the language barriers.

[@sarahwatts7152]

@@miridium121 Different language, but when I was in Spain I bought a shirt with the cookie monster & chocolate chip cookies that said "FALSOS AMIGOS", on the nose maybe but also very funny

[@piarateking8094]

yep and there are also regional dialects and accents for lack of a better word just like any other language

[@qwertyTRiG]

@@miridium121 The sign language(s) of a country may borrow some things from the spoken language(s), but the grammar is often very different. They really are languages in their own right.

[@ceirwynsinclair4198]

Rupert checking if you're hearing aids are in and letting you know that there are noises melted my heart! You all are a great family!

[@InsaneLaughter01]

Not even 2 and he’s already trying to take care of his moms. Gah, my heart!!! ❤

[@janesmith8168]

Rupert is so lucky to have two dedicated parents using two languages with him, helping him to communicate at a stage when most babies struggle to get across their feelings. I think more nurseries need to offer signing and speaking to help deaf and hearing children communicate better.

[@JesterSqueak]

Im an speech therapist and I so appreciate you sharing your child’s communication journey❤

[@JesterSqueak]

I always tell parents that their children know more words and concepts than they realize that they may not be able to express with verbal speech (either at that moment or ever) and providing accessible ways to communicate helps with that connection. Thank you again for sharing your videos ❤

[@theadegroot1691]

I'm curious if Rupert has signed with anyone outside of your household? Sometimes children who only encounter a language with family members are completely blown away when they run into someone else who can understand and use that language. It's fun to see their world enlarge in that moment.

[@Lalaloolaleila]

A few months ago Jessica took the family on a work trip and posted a pic on her Instagram story of Rupert signing with her BSL interpreter at the airport, who iirc he really likes!

[@InsaneLaughter01]

I bet Rupert will be that kid who teaches the other kids signs so they can talk in class😂

[@lorrainethomas8797]

I love (and am fascinated) by him understanding you don't hear and stepping in, on tiny wobbly baby feet to help. Truly beautiful.

[@rosequill7925]

More in baby sign language is actually the sign for more in asl. Baby signs aren't entirely made up they're modified versions of signs in asl. It probably gets confusing for Rupert if his nursery is using an entirely different sign language than the one he knows.

[@SenshiSunPower]

I thought that was "more"!

[@emmaraewilliams]

Yes. I'm learning American Sign Language, and baby sign is based on ASL, but it is isolated words. This is also an issue for full language acquisition, since it doesn't teach sentence structure. I'm surprised the baby sign language used over there in the UK isn't based on the native sign language of the region. I wonder what the reasoning is for that.

[@SPak-dd7zk]

@@emmaraewilliams there are a lot of Ameslan-based baby sign books and teaching materials (most notably Baby Signing Time, which is made by a mixed Deaf/hearing family) that people probably started importing to the UK with no awareness (or without caring) that Ameslan is not compatible with BSL

[@aud7593]

@@SPak-dd7zk is Ameslan = American Sign Language? that's such a cool word for it, really fun to say!

[@SPak-dd7zk]

@@aud7593 yep

[@krystakree]

My son is 4 now and he has learned over the years that Mommy doesn’t hear anything when I’m sleeping or swimming or showering or if I say I’m putting my music on (Bluetooth cochlear implant) so he will physically touch me to get my attention and make sure I know he’s looking for me. He knows a handful of signs as I am not fluent in ASL, but seems to only do the signs with me and not my husband or his teachers. Somehow they just know! It wasn’t until after he turned 4 that I explained what my cochlear implant does because I got a new one that was purple so it stood out more lol

[@beccalogan9909]

My now 11 month old was diagnosed as deaf at 5 weeks old, getting her first hearing aids at 10 weeks old. We are currently trying to teach her to sign while also learning ourselves. We are going much more with SSE, at the moment at least, because I really can't seem to get my head around BSL. At least that way we will have a lot of signs under our belts if/when we tackle BSL in the future. We are also learning to use Cued Speech with her to support her in learning to lip read because no matter how well we sign she is going to be going out into a hearing world. The more resources that she has at her fingertips to help her in that the better.

[@RP-ws8fl]

Not sure if you have already, but reaching out to the deaf community and getting her involved in that early would be a great idea. Gives her community and people to look up to, which can be hard with noone deaf in the family. They might also be willing to support you with your BSL journey, which is more likely to be helpful in the long run. Good on you for being so engaged with your daughters deafness.

[@nataliem7144]

R P is right. Plus you'll want that support and feedback for things like school and college - what's the best option? Should you be using a deaf unit in a mainstream, a deaf school or a mainstream school. What issues are there with intetpreters in your area? Who has the good speech therapists etc. A good deaf/Deaf community can make a huge difference. Just bare in mind, there can still be an aversion/prejudice against the hearing world and the use of SSE or slang ASL, especially amongst older Deaf. These are the folk who fought to have BSL firstly legalised for use in schools (thank you Milan conference 1880) and secondly recognised as a real, true and native language in this country. They fought to be treated as equals, and not as 'deaf and dumb'. Be aware of it, learn from them, and let that knowledge guide but not rule you. Things are getting better. Slowly.

[@glitch84-]

It's crazy to me that we can put earing aids on a child as young as ten weeks. Dont they try to take them out constantly? I remember reading a post from a deaf child's parent and they say their two? Years old daughter would constantly do that and throw them away. I honestly thought they should respect her wish more, she was described as being very uncomfortable with those. But idk, i'm not a parent

[@emilyreich7548]

I took child language development as part of my linguistics degree but one thing we never learned (at least in any of my courses) was about the differences/similarities between spoken and signed language development, let alone bilingually, so I really enjoyed this video, so educational! Thank you for at least partially filling in a gap in my language knowledge, always love to learn about language stuff! 😃

[@WatashiMachineFullCycle]

I can't believe Rupert is already a year old!! I am so fascinated with y'all teaching him sign and the Montessori method, even though I never plan to have children I think it's a really great method! Wish I had it in my formative years

[@TheLonelyGod42]

I'm totally here for encouraging Claudia to wear vintage more! She looks amazing!

[@spshc]

I started to tear up when you were describing the way he looks after you because of your deafness, alerting you to what is going on. How wonderful! 🥰

[@afreepotatochip8765]

little babies are brighter than we give them credit for! his diverse books and constant observation of different people might have helped him realize that some people need hearing aids and some don't and that you're in the former group! thank you for sharing your journey with us, it's very interesting and educational

[@Nellipusen]

I don't speak BSL but I do speak some NTS (Norwegian sign language), and I'm really enjoying looking at the similarities and differences between signs in the two languages in this video

[@SamarkandChan]

Fellow Norwegian 🇳🇴

[@HaShomeret]

I have a question as an American. Do other people in countries where English is a popular spoken language but use sign language is completely unrelated to American Sign Language think that baby sign (which uses signs but not grammar from ASL) is its own made up thing? Because it started in the USA and then got popular online. Are there daycares in other countries teaching signs to babies but using the ASL signs? This is so wild.

[@kayterryswift]

@@HaShomeret For me it would make more sense to use baby sign with vocabulary from my national sign language. (I don‘t know sign language yet, but that way I‘d have a basis of vocabulary I could build up on) In Germany we have the concept of ‚language accompanying signs‘ in special education, and baby sign is considered one form of that. So German signs are used. Interestingly I found out that in Switzerland, they also use German baby signs, even though they have their own Swiss-German sign language. So it is highly possible that other countries are using American baby sign despite having their own national sign language I could imagine that especially parents who never had contact with the deaf community and aren‘t educated about the different sign languages might just use American baby sign from KZbin or similar

[@AmandaNievi]

Jessica, I just wanted to say that I started to teach my baby sign language, and real sign language, because of you! I had decided to use baby sign before but after your video I changed my mind and started learning Brazilian sign language so I could teach it to him. You've been an awesome source of inspiration for me throughout the years, with your style and now with parenting, because I also sign and follow Montessori! Absolutely loved this video, I've been struggling to be consistent in signing with my son so this is very motivating. All the love from Brazil!

[@Juliana-du3kk]

Isso é incrível! Parabéns por estar aprendendo uma língua nova pelo seu filho ou filha.

[@jennifers5560]

So nice of you to update us on Rupert’s progression. -I think children naturally want to help in whatever way they can. Because you are accepting and responding to his help, he will continue to be a very empathetic, caring and helpful person. (We need more Rupert’s in our lives!)❤❤❤

[@terciasouto1582]

Kids are so smart, it's mind boggling. The way that he just understood that you're deaf and is taking the role of translator when you don't have hearing aids on is just crazy to me. He seems like a very kind human being, I hope he grows up to be just as wonderful as he is now.

[@andreanairvin7724]

My nephew never learned official sign language of any sort, but he used his own signs he made up because of a severe spoken language delay. I was always quite surprising when he would come up with one and when we figured out what they would mean he would give us the most like yeah duh look clearly that's what I mean.

[@crayonjared]

The signs for "WHAT" and "WHERE" are swapped in ASL, that's so funny!! Also, the "baby sign" (ugh) for MORE comes from ASL as well!

[@abbytheaardvark]

I've started learning BSL recently at my local college, and my tutor is completely deaf, and she communicates with us purely through signs. I'm partially deaf (no hearing in one ear, my mum's is the same) due to Ménières disease, so I wanted to learn in case I eventually go completely deaf, but also because I've encountered people randomly throughout life who sign, and I've always been so sad that I can't communicate with them. Learning with a tutor who is fluent is fascinating - challenging too, but not impossible. We can pick up what she means and she has taught us signs for 'again/repeat', 'sorry', 'please/thank you' etc. so we can talk more easily. We've also learned to fingerspell - all in one session?! There's also a couple who are learning BSL on the course because their 3 month old is deaf. and they both want to be able to communicate with her and to teach her. Anyway basically BSL is amazing and I really hope I can learn well enough to communicate, and your videos are one of the things that also inspired me to start! You came up in my suggested videos and it felt like another sign (haha) that I should learn, along with the other instances where I've met people who sign. So thank you! So, so good that Rupert is learning to sign. I'm so excited to see more!

[@ekl1457]

So sweet he wants to keep you informed of what's going on. Just like a "don't worry I've got this".

[@RegstarRogstar]

I can see how some parents get absolutely obsessed with children developmental studies, this stuff is interesting

[@lynnbrooklyn1332]

I love Rupert wanting to help you out by giving a noise alerts. It also shows that being helpful is innate while discrimination is taught. Love you’re vids!

[@maggiealelew]

I got whiplash from wondering where the Claudia video went! Now we got another amazing video! Lol!

[@DB-sc2hg]

It’s wonderful how Rupert has understood your deafness and how he is wanting to help you hear. He must feel very safe in the knowledge that you and Claudia understand what he is trying to say, which alleviates a lot of his frustration❤❤

[@Pikasusuu]

I was enjoying learning about claudia's style progression! :)

[@mj-vn5qi]

did she take out the video?

[@nutkja]

@@mj-vn5qi I think it was a mis-upload since she said the video was for Nat’l Coming Out Day and that’s not till the 11th.

[@Pikasusuu]

@@mj-vn5qi I assume it must have been uploaded by mistake. But no worries, we can learn about sign language instead!

[@scilines]

@@Pikasusuu Yeah we’ll just jump back into roasting Claudia’s style next week. 😂

[@jennifers5560]

We got a little preview!

[@PhoebeFayRuthLouise]

It’s quite fascinating that Rupert has a broadened vocabulary with both speech and signing! And I’m definitely a fan of Claudia in vintage!

[@maike__-]

Rupert sounds like a delightful baby who will grow into a great kid and a really kind and thoughtful person. It was really cool to get a "report" like that about his growing up and his progress and learning. Lovely video!

[@grff_]

That's soooo cute🥺 I love reading stories of babies translating to their deaf parents, humans are so interesting!

[@wakeywakeyvegetables6133]

Learning set phrases like "I did it" makes sense as linguistically babies recognise them as a single word (a holophrase)! Also I find it super interesting that he's recognised b words in sign before g words, as /b/ is typically used by small children before /g/ is and it's physically easier for them to make a /b/ sound in early developmental stages. I definitely want and need to do some more research into sign languages and how they're acquired by babies, most of my knowledge is on spoken English 😅 this was such an interesting video, thank you!!!

[@MichelleK.B.]

When my kids were in their language acquisition stage they loved /b/ words for a while. My oldest also did the thing Jessica discussed about learning a word and then forgetting it and it returned later. “Blue” was the first color word then it disappeared and some other colors were added to the word bank and a month or so later “blue” returned.

[@clareu9539]

Another cross-over you may come across is Makaton. Makaton is a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate. It supports the development of essential communication skills such as attention, listening, comprehension, memory and expressive speech and language, and is often used by children and adults with learning disabilities and their families, friends, and professionals. Makaton uses the same core signs as Sign Supported English but is always used alongside speech, whereas those using SSE sometimes use speech and sometimes don't. Makaton uses signs from each country's main sign language. So in the UK, Makaton uses signs from BSL, whereas in the USA it would use signs from ASL.

[@diannemh2250]

I did not realise that Makaton was still called that in the UK, I still see the term used here in Australia occasionally, but has not officially been the term for over 20 years - known as Key Word Sign now, and many signs have transition to be more closely based on Auslan ( the Australian sign language of the Deaf Community). That explains why it the name still pops up sometimes! Many special schools & Early Intervention programs use KWS to assist communication and language development - I wish ALL special school would use it!

[@SaltofSaturn]

Oh I teared up when you talked about Rupert realizing that you couldn't hear everything and that he decided to become your ears. What a sweetness of spirit. It says a lot about what you and Claudia are modeling as parents that he is so empathetic and service oriented. I've always liked that sign language allows children to access language earlier, but I hadn't thought about how it would impact them emotionally to be able to communicate their concerns, fears, discomforts, desires, etc.

[@alexb6979]

Child language acquisition is so fascinating and I really enjoyed learning how your son is learning both languages, especially with him babbling in sign and signing words he can't say yet. Also, it's so adorable that he wants to communicate to you when there are loud noises!

[@saoirsevicteoiria2759]

He's such a lovely, empathetic child! It's so sweet to hear about his progress.

[@Noel.Chmielowiec]

Here you can sign the petition so Claud would wear more vintage, because she looks fire in this stuff!

[@amentrison2794]

Thanks for explaining the differences between Baby Sign and BSL/SSE. I think the main benefit of Baby Sign though is giving them access to the words they need at a stage in life where their hand control is better than their vocal control, so that they don't need to cry to get what they want. Which is a huge benefit to the parent, even if it doesn't come with the benefits of teaching them a whole fleshed out Sign Language.

[@KitOfTheWeirdWoods]

Rupert deciding to be your ears is the cutest thing I have ever heard I actually teared up a little!

[@hhmmhmhm5743]

I wish more parents were like you two. So careful and considerate. You give him the tools to communicate and you treat him as a thinking, feeling person. I feel that it's so common for people to consider babies as "too dumb to understand" or whatever, when it's very clear from Rupert's behavior that the issue is with expression, not awareness. You've done so much research to make sure your child is raised in the best way possible, and it really shows with how calm, perceptive, and considerate he is. Well done.

[@Ruby.D]

I think it's really cute how Rupert related Tilly to Home. When my yonger brother was very little and didn't speak much yet, he was constantly moving from one house to another (family from different cities) so when he cried he wanted to go home, whoever was the adult around him would think of the home that was closer to him. He started doing the same correlations, like "the brown sofa" (where he lived), "the tree house", "the dogs house".

[@_maia_m]

Being able to teach your child sign language is valuable in so many ways, of course the part about being bilingual and teaching them about anti ableism, but also the part sbout communicating with them at an earlier age, which, as you mention, I'm sure makes them calmer and more at ease and happy. My oldest child was a bit later than average at learing how to speak, which is probably because she is bilingual but with two spoken languages. But her being unable to express herself was very frustrating for her, so I wish we could have helped her by teaching her signs. Our youngest was a little bit earlier, but unfortunately we used his father's language less with him, so he still understands that language a little less well than his sister.

[@loravura4782]

OMG. My brother had trouble speaking when he was young, so we had a speech therapist teach us all sign language to use around the house. I always thought it was ASL, and was really grateful for that because I learned it so young (like age 4-5) that those signs are basically ingrained in me. So I've always thought that in a pinch, I may be able to communicate (not fluently, but maybe effectively enough) some basic ideas with Deaf folks who use ASL when I happened to meet some. You were right, that baby sign you did is absolutely "more". And after doing a bit more research, I was not taught ASL as a child. I definitely recognize some of these extremely simplified graphics 😥So glad I learned this from a youtube video and not from actually needing the skill and discovering I'm talking total nonsense

[@dannialexjayne7069]

The sign for more comes from asl, most baby signs do

[@BethH992]

How great for him to have these options to communicate and express himself at such a young age! And him signing with his tiny hands is beyond adorable. We definitely don't need to see his face to be able to tell that he's a happy little guy 😊

[@JuMixBoox]

I love the detailed breakdown! Especially since we rarely hear about this. Also, it's all very cute. Can't believe he's already 16 months!

[@achanwahn]

The language thing where it goes away and comes back is a typical language skill even spoken. My son has done it with several spoken words. And it’s very common. I’m just impressed with how much yours knows so young. So wondrous!

[@BrokenAnguissette]

My Nan-Nan (great grandmother) was deaf and taught us signs when she watched us because lip reading tiny children is difficult especially as your eyes are going bad. I have such fond memories of her and signing. Listening to you talk about teaching your little one to sign and the joys of that shared language gets me just a little weepy in the best way. Many people in my Nan-Nan's life didn't know sign, and I have to imagine it was incredibly isolating. I can only hope that signing with us gave her some of the joy you're experiencing with Rupert 💜

[@blossomnessstudios4446]

My parents taught me a handful of 'baby signs' when I was really little (I've 100% forgotten now) bu my parents said that compared to my other 6 siblings I had far less tantrums because communication was so much easier. For some reason they never did this with my 3 younger siblings? It was just me lol

[@katie-vq4op]

This is so FASCINATING and beautiful!! What an incredible opportunity for your family to have such strong bonds through non verbal communication! I am in awe of how intelligent and intuitive you describe him to be!! 🥺🥺

[@ragnkja]

Sign language isn’t non-verbal, it’s just non-vocal.

[@_smileyface_]

just watching this video got me thinking- these videos are such a wonderful thing for us as an audience, but also for future rupert!! it would be lovely to be able to look back at videos of my parents from when i was a baby and see just how much they adored me, and i think rupert will really benefit from that.

[@CoraMaria]

Aww Rupert self-appointing himself as your ears is just too sweet~!

[@Fanny-pf7oz]

I'm not suprised at all that Rupert has an easier time learning sign language or learns them much earlier than he does acquiring his spoken language skills. Babies develop some of their gross motor skills before going on to develop their fine motor skills. Most people think fine motor skills only relates to hands and wrist, but speech is a fine motor skill too. There are about a 100 muscles involved for speech alone. So, of course, it takes babies a bit longer to get those muscles working together to produce sound and string those sounds together to make a word. Sign language therefore comes easier if they already have control over their arms and hands. Also not very surprised that Rupert is aware of you not hearing. Babies are seriously amazing! They really pay attention to their environment, because they're just so new. Everything is new to them. It's fascinating how fast they learn and how they soak everything up like a sponge.

[@senrytook]

it was lovley to see you talk not only something you are so passionate about, but to hear the love in your voice talking about your little one

[@stephanieraymond7583]

I love how sweet your son is! We are teaching our one year old daughter ASL. We are hearing parents and our daughter hears as well, we just wanted her to have the benefits of being bilingual. We also did not want to go the baby sign language path as it was better to just teach her regular ASL. Not only is she getting the benefits of having a second language, but also the benefits of us interacting with her and her watching my husband and I working together as a team to teach her, as well as us getting the benefit of learning ASL as well. Thank you so much for sharing your journey, it is really inspiring!

[@joywearing2527]

This video is so interesting!! the thing about Rupert wanting to help you with things you can't hear reminds me of my nephews and how they behave around my brother who has down syndrome. From a pretty young age they have helped him with things without anyone asking them, like getting his seat belt on, or getting him a snack or drink and its so wonderful to watch them be that way with him. They're also learning where my limitations are as someone with fibromyalgia and adjusting behaviour accordingly to make things easier for me to play games with them.

[@jennifers5560]

Children are so good at seeing when people need help and actually helping them!

[@KaijuRiot]

My heart is melting about baby Rupert telling you when there's a noise 😭😭😭 he just wants to make sure you know what's going on too, like he likes you both to do for him!! I could CRY 🥺🥺🥺

[@kennie727]

This is actually an incredibly helpful series that you keep posting! Me and my daughters father are both hearing, but our daughter has a major speech delay (less than 50 words @ 30 months) teaching her sign language (more than baby sign) would be very useful for her… I’ve always wanted to learn asl myself so teaching her would be my encouragement

[@wkt2506]

Do it ! 😃

[@JuMixBoox]

I recently got back into trying to learn sign language and I definitely learned that the hand movements are not everything very quickly. The signs for "How are you?", "I'm fine" and "I'm not fine" were exactly the same with different body shape and facial expressions. I'm going to an actual class soon and very much look forward to it.

[@onfaerystories]

This video made my day! I'm not deaf and never learned sign language, but you made me reconsider everything, especially as my husband and I want children in a few years.

[@l.wilson6492]

I could sign in makaton before I could speak. My mum worked in a disabled school, and they used a simplified form of sign language called Makaton, which is generally used with children with learning disabilities because it is very similar to SSE but simplified and more visual so it was easier to understand. They also used it with kids with limited mobility because often the signs were more simple. My mum taught me this when I was very little, so I was able to communicate on a very basic level before I could speak. Now I’m learning BSL.

[@tarynmichelleart]

Rupert telling you about all the noises is the cutest thing ever

[@kittymervine6115]

as I've mentioned before, the school I worked at shared a campus with a school for the deaf. The teenagers that were at the deaf school, had SLANG. As all teenagers DO. As language differs among all ages, the teens had their own bit. Many also attended deaf camps with children from around the nation, and so the slang would spread.

[@micivalantincic8227]

I was touched by this video. Thank you. Rupert is so smart and has a lot of empathy.

[@lavendervvitch99]

This is fascinating because it shows how aware babies are from such a young age. They might not be able to verbalize English words at 7, 9, 10 months (or maybe they can, admittedly I don’t know that much about babies), but the fact that Rupert can already sign those words is so cool. Like he’s so little but already he’s picked up on so many things and knows what’s going on, and knows how to communicate with his parents. It’s incredible

[@jeannebrdt]

It’s so delightful how compassionate he is, deciding to be your ears !

[@manythingslefttobuild]

5:23, yes, and VHS, and a wax cylinder gramophone. Thanks for the update on Rupert and sign language. It's lovely he tries to help you with noises.

[@midnightconstellation]

That's so cute that he understands that you don't hear and wants to help you with it ^-^ I love hearing about you and your beautiful family!

[@elleo9920]

I'm 11 weeks pregnant and cryiny at the thought of Rupert signing to you from the pushchair, what a lovely memory and bond you both share ❤️

[@emilyrln]

This was so interesting! I love how he's able to pick whichever form of a word is easiest to use. It's neat to see some of the differences between BSL and ASL (which I know a bit of from having a deaf aunt). I'm also reminded of how my little sis would speak some French back when my older sis and I were learning it in high school (the one that comes back to me now is "_Je veux_ sugar" AKA "I want sugar"). Too cute! 😂

[@IsisAlv]

instead of calling their mom, I've seen a kid holding her face and moving their way, it was very adorable. it's funny how much kids understand of their environment and how they adapt

[@nutkja]

Was in the middle of watching the Claudia style video when it went unavailable. Guess it was a mis-upload since Nat’l Coming Out Day isn’t until the 11th. I’ll just have to wait for the exciting conclusion in a few days! ❤

[@jessicaoutofthecloset]

Yes, so sorry! Please do enjoy next week, on actual National Coming Out Day 🥰

[@alexoglitter2700]

My name is Alex, I am autistic, disabled and gay. I was raised bilingually being to ASL and speaking English by my hearing mother originally started out as a way for me to communicate just like Rupert in a way that didn’t involve crying uncontrollably but to be able to explain what I wanted in a non-verbal way That was effective And then, as I grew up and developed more spoken English, I have been using my ASL to supplement, whenever I have problems with my mental cognition as part of my disability, when I’m so low on energy in my brain, just can’t cope with forming verbal sentences

[@Chaotic_lesbi4n]

I think it’s awesome that Rupert is learning sign language! I’m 14 and I’m learning bsl now but I would have loved to have learnt it as a baby.

[@pwhite2579]

Successive approximations to a point using external events and positive reinforcement. Gotta love the self programing brain!

[@ashleyg325]

You are an absolute icon of intentional parenting!! Your deep respect for the full humanity of your child is felt in everything you do with him. It is so beautiful to see, love these videos

[@d.on.in.a]

I am super impressed at how much this kids understands at such a young age! Having two great parents and two languages available to express himself really made a difference ❤️ He's so sweet

[@CrawfishPopsicle]

This is a great video. The energy is lower, but still strong and compelling. Jessica speaks about her most passionate topics, all at once. It’s proof that creators can make videos about their children without exploiting them. Phenomenal work, truly! I’d love to see more videos like this.

[@juliakimaro959]

It's so interesting to see how much is happening in those tiny baby heads! It's incredible that Rupert has an opportunity to communicate so much more than his little mouth would allow him to, and the fact that he understands so much and can have a whole conversation with you at such a young age is mind blowing ❤makes me think about how much more intelligent young children are than we give them credit for.

[@marianneshepherd6286]

I think Claudia would absolutely nail the 1920's country Lord of the Manor aesthetic! I work at a Flying Start playgroup and am the makaton ambassador for my setting. One of my key children has a cochlear implant and is learning BSL. So when I sign with her I try and use BSL so not to confuse her too much x

[@judithlashbrook4684]

I signed with my daughter when she was young so that she would have a means of communicating before speaking, at first it took some time because I don't sign usually and so it wasn't as consistent as it could have been but after a while she caught on. Very frustrating however the words she chose to sign; as a parent there are some things that we find important like "are you hurt?" and "where does it hurt?" , she never picked those up...however "chocolate" I signed once and she got it straight away! What a surprise! It was however, as you mentionned, very usefull even after we had stopped using it on a day to day basis, when we were out and about. I could tell her to "stop" or "be careful" or to "come to me", without having to yell!

[@lydiacoy9324]

This is genius! I wish you, Claudia and little Rupert all the best ♡ rupert is so clever picking all this up at such a young age

[@louburnett6782]

That was so interesting. My sister learned to lip read at 5 because she was loosing her hearing without people realising. At 6 it was diagnosed, so she had an operation and her hearing was restored. She has always wished she had been able to keep that ability - that faded after. I am so jealous of any sort of bi (or multi) lingual ability. Very interesting how the signed language seems easier for baby to express needs, over spoken.

[@graysonsjourney5420]

My sons are both non-verbal asd. Their biggest sign is "more" and they use it for a lot of things. Though they understand what we say to them but their communication has gone on very slowly. My youngest son does use picture exchange and also uses his tablet to show us.

[@wildstarsful]

Little kids know so much more than they get credit for, they take in so much information all the time as they are growing

[@kathleenbrashier2579]

I nominate Jessica and Claudia to be moms to children everywhere. Rupert is such a lucky little kidlet. 🥰

[@gequitz]

It's really touching to see the love you have for your child. I'm glad Rupert has great moms

[@Tariachan]

We are hearing parents with a hearing child who is 18 months old, and is growing up bilingually (two spoken languages). But in addition to that, we're also using some BSL signs and it really so helpful for her to connect the two spoken languages and communicate with us (she has about 25 signs and only 3 verbal words). I guess it's similar to baby sign language, but we're using BSL signs (I think a lot of baby sign language on KZbin is actually ASL, like the "more" sign that looks like a "b"). And eventhough we can't speak BSL, and we are aware she's not learning another language, it's still very helpful and preventing tantrums. She's actually preferring signing to speaking (e.g. for words like Mama, Daddy, more). I hope that this isn't cultural appropriation, this isn't our intention, it's just helping her to communicate whilst she still has problems with verbal words. I just hope that if you would see us out and about signing to my child, you wouldn't feel like we're disrespecting Deaf culture, that's really not what it intentions are.